A Softer Formalism

In this response to Professor John Manning’s Separation of Powers as Ordinary Interpretation, Professor Peter Strauss argues for a more nuanced understanding of functionalism and textualism, the schools that serve as the poles of Professor Manning’s middle-ground approach. Professor Strauss also suggests that Professor Manning could go farther in observing the influence that the details of the Constitution’s text might have on interpretations of the President’s Article II authority.